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POLITICAL ESSAYS
The Superpower's Royal Family
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In his *Ghost Wars* book [1], Steve
Coll profiles the de facto ruler of
Saudi Arabia, Crown Prince Abdullah.
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This part is what interests us:
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"He did not summer in Cannes casin-
os, indulge undisciplined sexual
appetites, or recklessly pilot stunt
planes..."
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How good of Coll to mention casinos
--in France.
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He continues:
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"...and in the context of the Saudi
royal fanily, this made him a ram-
rod figure."
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Ah, "in the context of." Now what
might that mean?
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March 27, 2005
New York Times [2]
New Details on F.B.I. Aid for Sa-
udis After 9/11
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"...newly released government re-
cords show previously undisclosed
flights from Las Vegas...and point
to a more active role by the [FBI]
in aiding some of the Saudis in
their departure."
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"The three Las Vegas flights, with
a total of more than 100 passen-
gers, ferried members of the Saudi
royal family and staff members who
had been staying at Caesar's Palace
and the Four Seasons hotels."
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The Times quotes an FBI official
"regarding the airport escorts" in-
cluding pre-flight plane searches:
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"[W]e'd do that for anybody if
they felt they were threatened -
we wouldn't characterize that as
special treatment."
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And of course that's quite true
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IN THE CONTEXT OF
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The Superpower's Royal Family.
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[1]
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Steve Coll. *Ghost Wars: The
Secret History of the CIA, Af-
ghanistan,and bin Laden, from
the Soviet Invasion [1979] to
September 10, 2001.* Penguin
Books, 2005. Page 398.
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[2]
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http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/27/polit ... &position=`
A Judicial Watch FOIA lawsuit
got the documents "with major
passages heavily deleted...."
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